The long range objective of this project is to understand at the molecular level how proteins are synthesized in mammals and how the process of protein synthesis is controlled at the levels of translation and transcription. The topics of current interest are: 1) the general protein chemistry of eukaryotic polypeptide chain elongation factors 2) the identification of active sites and sites of metabolic control and the determination of amino acid sequences of such sites 3) identification of an unusual amino acid at the site of ADP ribosylation and inactivation of elongation factor 2 with NAD ion and diphtheria toxin 4) the properties of biologically active messenger RNA for human placental polypeptide hormones 5) translation of eukaryotic mRNA in a cell-free system from wheat germ.